President Mahama wants the poor to gain access to quality healthcare

President John Mahama has said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was playing a useful role in ensuring that the poor and vulnerable gained access to appropriate care.

He said the NHIS model also placed the nation in a position that had attracted other countries to study our model adding that the increasing utilization of the facility in Ghana had reflected on the Human Development Index with the reduction of maternal mortality rates.

President Mahama said this when he commissioned a GH₡500,000 NHIS office block in Bolgatanga.

He said though maternal mortality in the country had reduced from 450 to 280, per year, it was still not enough to meet the Millenium Development Goals on maternal mortality and called for concerted efforts to achieve them.

President Mahama called on the staff of the NHIS to continue to work hard to ensure that the scheme improved on its status and became more meaningful to the general populace.

Mr Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of NHIS, said the huge volume of work as a result of increasing numbers of people registering, coupled with the complexities of rising costs in renting private premises led to the construction of the office block.

Source: GNA